I think the changes that have occurred in the last 6 years to now to sites like Salon.com, HuffingtonPost.com, msnbc.com have been crappy. I don't need automatically playing videos... I don't need dumbed down content.... I don't need to be bombarded by HEADLINES AND PICTURES IN MASSIVE TYPE AND SIZE....
I realize I must be very nearly alone in this. As I flee these spots, they must generate more content, because sites continue to switch and use them.
More and more, I find myself reading articles from web sites I like via "Flipboard", which was cool when Ashton delivered it 5 years ago, and hasn't changed much. I like that the ap simply brings me the stories with a headline and reasonable sized picture. I can still read the web sites I like without being assaulted.
And it isn't the ads. I get that ads have to occur - and I actually will use them as a call to duty if they are interesting to me. That is how one pays for free content.
No, the annoyance for me is the assumption of stupidity and lack of attention. The entire web is now designed for 12 year old illiterates with A.D.D.
Witness the "new" HuffingtonPost, which seems to have used The National Enquirer as its template.
There is a full width picture of the "top" story. And a headline. And the headline is ALL IN CAPS. Why? And the HUGE ASS, ALL IN CAPS HEADLINE IS ALSO UNDERLINED and BOLDED. Why?Did they assume that we might not understand the story was related to the picture otherwise.